And just like that, after releasing a song with Naya Rivera ("My new girl is on Glee and shit."), Big Sean goes ahead and drops a seven-and-a-half minute "straight-rap" track with two of rap's most venerable—Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica.
The trio competes for supremacy, though Kendrick says it a little more explicitly, naming the names of all his contemporary competitors, then declaring confidently: "Tryna make sure your core fans never heard of you." This goes for Big Sean too. Come to think of it, Kendrick has been relatively quiet as of late. After scooping his title as the "hottest MC in the game" for the year of 2012, this year rappers should know better than to take his reticence for weakness. Kendrick explodes back into the conversation, as we all knew he would, sandwiched between two very strong efforts from Sean and Jay-Elec, and it just seems strange to put him in the middle like that (like the time 50 Cent put him in the middle of "We Up.") Wherever Kendrick finds himself (except perhaps his verse on "F*ckin' Problems"), he refuses to turn down regardless of his track accompaniment, which can sometimes make the song seem lopsided. Who do you think had the best verse?
According to Sean, this NO I.D.-produced song won't even be included on Hall of Fame, due to an issue with clearing the sample, but thankfully he wouldn't keep this one from the fans, even if he let himself get (arguably) murdered to bits. I mean, Kendrick just called himself the king of New York. It's all part of the game, right?
Hall of Fame comes August 27th.
Listen, compare, discuss...below.
@kendricklamar so mad on that song, ha ha... Sheesh @JayElectronica on there like a scientist! Thanks u rappin ass niggas
Updated with the CDQ/Dirty version:
RELATED: Twitter Reacts to Kendrick Lamar's Verse on "Control (HOF)"
RELATED: 10 Rappers Kendrick Didn't Mention on His "Control" Verse
RELATED: What Were Other New York Rappers Busy Doing While Kendrick Called Himself "The King of New York?"
RELATED: Kendrick Lamar Reaches for the Belt: What His "Control" Verse Means for Hip-Hop
